Release Week: 11 November 2025
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Release Week: 11 November 2025
Posted on 2025-11-11 at 12:00 by Samuel Montgomery-Blinn
One of my preorders this week -- and funnily enough, I really liked the first book, more than the Licanius Trilogy, so hey, I hope we both are happy with this one!
PICKS:
There Is No Antimemetics Division: A Novel by qntm, read by Rebecca Calder for Random House -- "Humanity is under assault by malevolent “antimemes”—ideas that attack memory, identity, and the fabric of reality itself—in this whip-smart tale of science-fiction horror, an entirely reimagined and expanded version of the beloved online novel."
The Emergency: A Novel by George Packer, read by Billie Fulford-Brown for Macmillan -- "An empire has collapsed from boredom and loss of faith in itself. In the Emergency that follows, youth rebellions of urban Burghers and rural Yeomen embrace radical new ideas of humanity. Doctor Hugo Rustin, chief surgeon at the Imperial College Hospital, is increasingly estranged from his city and his family—from his wife, Annabelle, who finds fulfillment in their changed community; and especially from his teenage daughter, Selva, who has turned against her father’s values. When an incident at the hospital leads to Rustin’s disgrace, he seeks redemption in a quixotic and dangerous journey into the countryside, with Selva as his companion, just as the conflict between Burghers and Yeomen is reaching a crisis."
Who Knows You by Heart: A Novel by C. J. Farley, read by Bahni Turpin for William Morrow -- "Part social thriller, part modern love story, a sly, witty, and endlessly discussable tale of Big Tech, new money, relationships, race, and discovering what’s real in an age of artificial intelligence."
The Merge: A Novel by Grace Walker, read by Tamaryn Payne and Pearl Hewitt for Mariner -- "A thrilling and ominously prophetic debut set in a world when Earth and its resources have been pushed to breaking point, giving rise to a revolutionary—and highly controversial—procedure in which two people’s consciousness can be combined to exist in one body."
Ravishing: A Novel by Eshani Surya, read by Priya Ayyar for Simon and Schuster -- "A provocative, darkly surreal novel of two Indian American siblings caught in the clutches of a beauty tech company, a searing portrait of the beauty industry’s dangerous ability to change people’s relationship to their bodies and the cult-like grip it has on youth."
North Country by Matt Bondurant, read by Jim Meskimen for Blackstone -- "North Chazy, New York is the heart of the North Country, a frigid region nestled against the Canadian border, characterized by the beautiful landscapes of the Adirondacks and Lake Champlain—plus a steady stream of Quebecois drugs flowing south, spirited by snowmobile across the ice. Tom Kaiser, fresh off a dishonorable discharge from the Air Force, returns to North Chazy for his ailing father’s final days. It’s an uneasy homecoming—ever since his little sister was lost under the ice in mysterious circumstances when they were children, Kaiser has felt a terrible presence swimming in the deep. Needing work, Kaiser falls in with Donnie LeClair, a slumlord, loan shark, and aesthete whose private collection of landscapes would rival a modest museum’s. Kaiser earns his keep roughing up unsavory locals who are late on their rent. But his true value is his aptitude for satellite telemetry, allowing him to find gaps in border surveillance, a useful skill for working with a Montreal kingpin who wants to move large quantities of ecstasy into the US. As Kaiser spirals through the underbelly of drugs and crime, he finds the roots of evil run deep in the North Country—as bleak, impenetrable, and foreboding as the frozen lake."
Some Bright Nowhere: A Novel By: Ann Packer, read by Will Damron for Harper -- "The bestselling, beloved author returns with her first novel in over a decade, an intimate and profoundly moving look at a long marriage and the ways in which a startling request can change a couple’s understanding of who they are, together and apart."
Shiny Happy People by Clay McLeod Chapman, read by Dominique Salvacion for Book On Tape -- "A twisted and thrilling sc-fi horror novel that shines a light on the terrors of the U.S. opioid epidemic, about a mysterious new drug plaguing a small town and the haunting side effects."
The White Hot: A Novel By: Quiara Alegría Hudes, read by Daphne Rubin-Vega with the author for Random House -- "The story of a runaway mother’s ten days of freedom—and the pain, desire, longing, and wonder we find on the messy road to enlightenment—from the Pulitzer Prize winner."
Bones of Our Stars, Blood of Our World by Cullen Bunn, read by Timothy Andrés Pabon for Simon and Schuster -- "The bestselling and Eisner Award–nominated comics writer presents his adult novel debut—a high-stakes hunt for a masked killer whose brutal murders may be a portent of an evil as ancient and cold as the stars themselves."
WTF WATCH:
- Ingram: A Novel By: Louis C.K., read by the author for BenBella Books -- "A suspenseful, often harrowing yet hopeful odyssey through rural America follows a young drifter’s coming of age in an indifferent world, in this debut novel by comedian Louis C.K."
BACKLIST WATCH:
- The Ha-Ha: A Novel By: Jennifer Dawson (1961), introduction by Melissa Broder, read by Ezra Saifie for Simon and Schuster -- "A prizewinning, semi-autobiographical debut novel that explores a young woman’s struggle with mental illness at Oxford University in the 1950s."
NEW EDITION WATCH:
- The Lost by Sarah Beth Durst (2013), read by Caitlyn Davies for Harlequin -- Replaces the 2015 Brilliance Audio edition read by Charlotte North, billed also as "a fully updated and expanded edition with a brand-new ending." -- "Against the backdrop of a desolate and mystical town, this arresting, fantastical novel explores one woman’s impossible journey—and her quest to find her fate."
MORE SCI-FI and FANTASY:
The Sacred Space Between: A Novel by Kalie Reid, read by Harley Viveash and Cora Kirk for Little Brown and Company -- "An enchanting enemies-to-lovers fantasy about an exiled saint and the devout iconographer sent to paint him."
Turns of Fate by Anne Bishop, read by Jesse Vilinsky for Penguin -- "A young detective investigating crimes of the uncanny will learn that bargains can change your fate—for good or ill—in this darkly enthralling fantasy."
Aphrodite: A Novel by Phoenicia Rogerson, read by a full cast for Harlequin -- "From the award-winning author of Herc, an enrapturing feminist tale that brilliantly reimagines the story of Aphrodite and how she transformed herself from a lowly outsider to the darling goddess of love."
The Amberglow Candy Store by Hiyoko Kurisu, translated by Matt Treyvaud, read by Kenichiro Thomson and Susan Momoko Hingley for Penguin -- "In this charming, fable-like book from Japan, a fox spirit sells magical confections to troubled humans, only for them to get a little more than they bargained for."
SERIES WATCH:
The Strength of the Few: Hierarchy, Book 2 by James Islington, read by Euan Morton for Audible -- "This highly anticipated follow-up to The Will of the Many—one of 2023’s most lauded and best-selling fantasy novels—follows Vis as he grapples with a dangerous secret that could unravel history across alternate dimensions."
The Last Wish of Bristol Keats: A Novel by Mary E. Pearson, read by Brittany Pressley for Macmillan -- "The thrilling conclusion of the Courting of Bristol Keats romantic fantasy duology."
Brigands & Breadknives: Legends & Lattes, Book 3 by Travis Baldree, read by the author for Macmillan -- "Return to the cozy fantasy world of the #1 New York Times bestselling Legends & Lattes series with a new adventure featuring fan-favorite, foul-mouthed bookseller Fern."
Exit Strategy: A Reacher Novel By: Lee Child and Andrew Child, read by Scott Brick for Random House
TIE-IN WATCH:
- Star Wars: Master of Evil by Adam Christopher, read by Marc Thompson for Random House -- "After Revenge of the Sith, a newly forged Darth Vader hunts for the secrets of life and death under the watchful eye of Emperor Palpatine."
INDIE WATCH:
- The Effaced: Secret Records of Axel Font, Book 1 by Tobias Begley, read by John Pirhalla for Podium -- "Axel Font, once the champion metal sorcerer of the underground arena, wants nothing more than to live a quiet life as an airship engineer. But with the constables coming knocking on his door and claiming he's under investigation for the murder of a member of the Senate, privatized paramilitary start trying to shoot him, and someone starts making appearances as his old masked identity, he's not likely to get the chance. Forced to delve back into the city's underground, Axel must reconnect with his old contacts and forge himself new ones, all without losing himself to the person he used to be."
MOST MISSING:
The Great Black Swamp: Toxic Algae, Toxic Relationships, and the Most Interesting Place in America that Nobody's Ever Heard Of by Patrick Wensink (Belt Publishing) -- "Mixes ecological reporting, Midwestern history, and memoir. As Wensink travels through Northwest Ohio, he tells us about his childhood there, his failing marriage, American history, Lake Erie, and the hopeful ecological interventions scientists are performing in the former Great Black Swamp."
Letters from an Imaginary Country by Theodora Goss, foreword by Jo Walton (Tachyon Publications) -- "This themed collection of imaginary places, with three new stories, recalls Susanna Clarke’s alternate Europe and the surreal metafictions of Jorge Luis Borges."